$5 Brocolli & Rice Cheesy Casserole from Scratch!

Nicknaming this the 'Green Bay Packers' Casserole! The dash of tumeric did its job aha.

It's very wholesome, cheesy, cozy and best part – it costs around $5 for the entire dish. My kids especially love it. To make it a full meal – you could mix in some shredded rotisserie chicken before baking.

2 Bags Frozen broccoli (1.88)

2 cups cooked Rice (.25)

8oz block of sharp cheddar cheese – grated (1.70)

5 tablespoons butter (.75)

5 tablespoons flour (.10)

3 cups milk (.55)

2 tbsp dried diced onions

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt – or to taste

Black Pepper – to taste

DASH of Tumeric – optional for color

garlic powder to taste (1/2 – 1 tsp)

Optional – around 1 cup crushed crackers, breadcrumbs, cornflakes in 2 tbsp melted butter – sprinkle on Casserole before baking

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium. Once melted, add the flour and make a rue. Slowly add the milk and whisk continuously until combined. Add all spices and onion. Once it thickens, add the shredded cheddar and continue whisking until it makes a velvety cheese sauce.

Meanwhile, either cut the frozen broccoli pieces by hand to SMALL pieces/florets (we don't like the huge chunks, here) or, throw it in the blender or food processor to chop. The stems are just fine if you can chop them small enough : ) add the chopped broccoli and cooked rice to the cheese sauce. TASTE for seasoning – then spread in a 9 x 9 glass baking dish, bake for 30 mins @ 350°F.

Fyi – I buy Jasmine Rice in bulk from costo (avg .70 cents/lb) and salted butter is under $3/lb at the moment – although I paid $2/lb personally last time I stocked up at Costco. The broccoli I use is either from Aldi or Walmart – which is under $1/ bag. To make the 8oz of cheese stretch – buy the sharpest cheese you can. your prices might be slightly different!